Ownership of a luxury yacht is synonymous of unrivaled wealth, a status symbol and floating extravagance that only the world’s richest can possibly afford. They first began to appear at the beginning of the 20th century when wealthy individuals started to commission the construction of large private yachts for their own personal pleasure. Some of the earliest examples include the Christina O and the Savarona with a massive growth in popularity of luxury yachts taking place between 1997 and 2008. So, what originally started out as a fairly simple vessel with basic accommodation has quickly evolved into specimens incorporating features comprising the height of sophistication and luxury as demonstrated with the following top 10 most expensive luxury yachts in the world.